"With Christine G. Easiest route up Charleston imo. Fuck the usfs. There was a dumb lady at the summit that said the trail i just came up was closed. Disobedience to tyrants is obedience to god. " — bend • Jul 26, 2025

"My husband and I arrived to the trailhead by 5 AM to avoid as much of the heat as possible. The parking lot was almost empty. As usual, the hardest part of the hike were the first 4.5 miles (from trailhead to the saddle). Starting early paid off. We got to see so many birds: violet-green swallows, western bluebirds, Clark's nutcrackers, a hawk, etc. We came believe we were the seconds ones to summit that morning-- a father-son duo was coming down from the summit as we were climbing and we got the summit all to ourselves. It was beautiful! " — MarisaR • Jul 25, 2025

"7.16.25~Charleston Peak #120 w/Son James Jr. for his 1st just 3 days shy of his 17th Bday. 19 miles, 5,000’ gain, 9:06hr CW mega loop. Up SLT, Down NLT & TC with a Hwy walk finish. He worked hard for this and did very well. He had few low points along the way but was super strong the whole time, like a machine. I was super honored to see him accomplish this feat. It was a perfect day. We saw familiar faces and met new friends along the way up. We had the summit to ourselves and never saw anyone on the way down. We both consumed 3.5x 16oz bottles of water. I had a bottle of gatorlyte, a small deli sandwich, an applesauce packet, half of a cliff bar, 1 nutragrain bar & half a pretzel rod. Jimmy had a chicken sandwich, rice crispy treat, Doritos, half of a cliff bar and half of a pretzel rod. https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1922GsTWnV/?mibextid=wwXIfr" — paula.raimondi • Jul 16, 2025

"6.25.25~Charleston Peak #119 plus Lee Peak twice (to and from) 10 miles, 4,000’ gain in 6:26hrs (including:40 min spent on summits) from upper Bristlecone trail. Up to Lee peak in 1:57hrs and to the to of Charleston in 3:21hrs. Poor shoe choice mixed with feet swelling & too thick of socks had me slow on the downhill since my toes were being crushed. Weather was perfect. 40deg, 6am start kept me from sweating too much. I consumed 3X 16 oz of water, one bottle of 50 cal gatorlyte, one hostess golden cupcake and an applesauce packet. I’m not in the greatest mtn climbing shape as most of my workouts are road running and strength training but I did pretty well nonetheless. Nice to get back on top. I saw no human beings at all the whole hike except for the summit but that person left as I arrived so I was able to take fun photos. https://www.facebook.com/share/r/197v5GKjNZ/?mibextid=wwXIfr" — paula.raimondi • Jun 25, 2025

"Favorite route to Charlie. I've done it 5 times now, trying 3 different descents. Today's was preferred, however all routes result in 8 hours almost to the minute. The weather was fabulous up there today. " — DudeAlmighty • Oct 10, 2024

"6.18.2024~Charleston Peak #118 CW Big loop. Up SL, Down NL @ TC. 18 miles, 5,000’ gain in 7:06hrs w/10:45 am start. I haven’t done that many miles at once in more than a few years. I felt strong. I saw some of the aftermath of massive storms in 2023 and the trail repairs. Before the Griffith saddle there is a graveyard of downed trees telling the tale of extremely violent storms. Crews cut thru them to allow for trail use. There is also a ginormous down tree on TC/ NL saddle. I ran into Keena in the meadow. Was nice to see her. She was admiring the blue butterflies. I had the summit all to myself. It was a chilly day but warm in the beginning parts of SLT. I never saw another person on the way down off the Summit to NLT & TC. TC looks to have all of its repairs but is probably closed because the road to the trailhead is washed out. The mountain is green and lush. I consumed, 3-16oz water bottles, 2 small gatorades, a choc chip cookie, bag of pretzels, palmful of mnms, small pancake, jam & bacon Sammie & one small slice of cheese pizza. Awesome day." — paula.raimondi • Jun 18, 2024

"6.15.2024~Charleston Peak (#117) +Lee Peak X2 to and fro. 9.75 miles, 4,000’ gain from the Lee Canyon Ski area. After a 2 year hiatus due to burn out & work, it was nice to have another visit. I started just before 6am to avoid the heat. The sun is always more intense up here in June. Most of this route is in the shade. It took me 6:43hrs as I took breaks and my heel/ Achilles is a bit injured so I had to be careful. Fun. " — paula.raimondi • Jun 15, 2024

"Solo but saw a bunch of friendly faces. Last 4 miles were rough when i ran out of everything. Drank a liter right from mummy springs. A nice lady Laura gave me a ride back to my car because she saw me dry heaving haha" — bend • Jul 22, 2023

"Decided last minute to do it in a day and I'm so happy we did. I got to push myself and see the beautiful views as well as make an amazing new friend. Absolutely loved this loop." — CheshireKatt13 • Sep 28, 2022

"South to North Charlie summit. We lucked out with the weather as the clouds chased us the whole hike starting around 9:30. Nearly had rain at the peak but it missed us, finally got some drizzles as we approached Trail Canyon Junction and some distant T-storms could be heard. A great hike. " — DudeAlmighty • Aug 3, 2022